Kimai review
A flexible open-source tracker with billing depth, exports, APIs, and self-hosting.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Kimai is an open-source time-tracking platform for freelancers, small organizations, and companies that need to record work against customers, projects, and activities. It supports start/stop timers, manual timesheet entry, billable and non-billable classifications, hourly and fixed-rate calculations, invoicing, reporting, and exports. The responsive web application works on desktop and mobile browsers, with hosted cloud and self-hosted deployment options. Its positioning is strongest for organizations that want control over their tracking environment and a direct path from recorded time to billing.
Pricing is available through a free open-source option and a 30-day free trial for the hosted service. The Standard plan costs €2.99 per user per month when billed annually or €3.99 monthly, adding project time tracking, billable hours, invoicing, data export, audit logs, and industry-specific translations. The Professional plan costs €3.99 per user per month annually or €4.99 monthly, adding working-hour accounts, vacation and sick-leave tracking, expense tracking, custom fields, task management, and a Customer Portal. The paid tiers make sense for teams that need operational and billing features beyond basic time capture.
Kimai fits established workflows through its JSON API, plugin-based extension system, LDAP and SAML authentication, and integrations with Google Workspace, Azure AD, and Authentik. Timesheet approvals are available through a separate free plugin, which keeps the core application extensible but adds another component to manage. The platform offers iOS and Android access through its responsive web interface and browser-installed shortcuts, rather than native vendor applications. Choose Kimai for open-source control, self-hosting, detailed billing, and export needs; choose another tracker if native desktop software or offline tracking is essential.
Kimai pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Tracks project, customer, activity, billable, and non-billable time
- Exports timesheets in XLSX, PDF, CSV, and HTML
- Supports LDAP, SAML, APIs, plugins, invoicing, and reporting
- Where it doesn't
- No native desktop application
- No offline tracking
- Timesheet approvals require a separate free plugin
Kimai fact sheet, pricing and score →
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